Montana!

Hey Everybody,

I hope this finds all of you well and enjoying some better weather than most of us had over the holiday weekend. I am preparing for the big trip...but when the long lost sun came out today I took a short break to visit the Pictograph Caves just outside of town. This place used to be home to prehistoric hunters & lots of artifacts have been discovered here over the last several decades. I had hoped to wander a bit more, but then a storm rolled in...guess I should have checked the weather before paying the out-of-state visitor park fee!

I hope to show you a little more of Montana over the coming months.... For today just a couple photos. I know some of you have seen this place before, but it's so pretty that I like to stop here when I come to town. If you look closely at the last pic you can see the two best remaining examples of the pictographs (center & far right).

That's all for now...better get back to work. More soon.

A friend for the green slime....

Hey Everyone,

The weather is quickly deteriorating! The wind was SO bad on Thursday that I stopped a few hours soon than planned. Friday I tried to make up some miles, no longer looking for places to stop and wander - just wanting to get to my temporary home in Montana before the Memorial Weekend snow. I hit some poor weather, but nothing of significance. And not enough snow for me to practice taking pictures in the snow. Bummer!

I made one giant exception in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Wouldn't you have done the same? :-)

Anyway....I hope this finds all of you well and enjoying the weekend. I will be in touch again soon....off to Denver in about a week and a few days after that I will catch a plane to Norway in search of Narwhals and Polar Bears. Cross your fingers! :-) As always, thanks for stopping by!

The House That Rock Built!

Hey Everybody!


Cleveland is a great place to visit on a Wednesday! Any day, really....but on Wednesdays the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum is open until 9pm. Before I forget: if you cannot go on a Wednesday & you want to see it all, then I highly recommend the 2-day pass. It's a lot to absorb on a 10a-5p day. A lot!

I was there 10-4:30, left for 1.5hrs and returned until closing time. It was hard to leave, but I did need the break & had a couple errands to run anyway. Cleveland's rock & roll roots run pretty deep....and they worked hard to earn the privilege of being home to such a cool place. In fact, a local band played for more than 100 hours in an effort to get the Hall of Fame to Cleveland. The city heritage includes: Tracy Chapman, Macy Gray, and Marilyn Manson...

You will be tempted not to believe me, but it is true. The first song playing on the radio on the way to the museum: Joan Jett's "I Love Rock & Roll" - what are the chances?! As I walked toward the Hall of Fame I coud hear CCR's "Proud Mary." A person could spend the day just hanging out near the building to listen to great music all day!

As a charter member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it has taken me a very long time to set foot in my church. Admittedly, that membership lapsed due to circumstances over the years. If I lived in Cleveland (or visited regularly) I would absolutely maintain an annual pass. I didn't see anyone famous, but I overheard the conversation of some Elvis fans - they were pretty convinced that if he were coming back...it WOULD be to the Hall of Fame!

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at 9:30AM - before the school buses unloaded. I think field trips don't get much better than this!

Some of the painted guitars out front:

I knew Big Bird was cool...but not this cool! :-)

The staff recommend that everyone begin with a 12 minute film, "Mystery Train." So I did...and really enjoyed it. In the introduction these words fill the screen: "Imagine...There was a time in America when there was no rock & roll." Then it takes viewers way back to the roots and then blends sounds until there is rock & roll.

There are 7 levels to explore - complete with interactive listening booths, big screens showing all kinds of footage (interviews, concerts, inductions), and a movie theatre currently playing the U23D live concert. Right now, two of those levels are dedicated to a special Grateful Dead exhibit. It includes manuscripts, artwork, costumes, and instruments.

One of the less serious items in the museum was Timothy B. Schmit's (The Eagles) duffle bag full of hotel keys from around the world. Somewhere along the way on tour he started keeping them just for fun. It's a lot of keys!

Wanna see Hendrix' clothes, an Elvis cadillac, Michael Jackson's werewolf mask, ZZ tops Yunker Guitars, Mick Jagger's costumes, all sorts of Beatles stuff, handwriiten lyrics on scrap paper, Janis Joplin's psychedelic '65 Porsche, all kinds of guitars ... Well, you get the idea!

One of the most disturbing items on dispay are the two pieces of Otis Redding's airplane. The salvaged parts of the plane have his name. He recorded "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" three days before that plane crash.... just seems to intensify the loss, but sure makes me grateful that song was cut. I cannot imagine that song not existing.

Level Three is all about Hall of Fame Inductees. It was one of the highlighs of the visit. There's a video playing past induction ceremony highlights. There's an inductee film presentation that shows inductees from 1986 to the present. For part of the film there was an older man sitting near me and he clearly knew who should be inducted (or not!). When Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell popped up on the screen he rejected them - loudly! He was less bothered by Brenda Lee, but clearly didn't see how they had any relation to rock & roll. One of the best features of this level is a series of glass panels with the etched signatures of every inductee.

The Johnny Cash tour bus!

He used this bus for the last two decades of his career, which means I was on the very bus he used when I saw his show at The Filmore in SF, CA. He sold it just before he died because it was too sad for him to keep after his wife's death a couple months earlier. A couple funny stories about the man in black. First:

And:

I don't know why people think stars live differently than the rest of us!

For any Van Halen fans out there...drum kit from the 1980 Invasion tour.

I wish I had more photos for you, but cameras are NOT permitted except in two places. The Hall of Fame owns about one percent of everything on display - according to a staff member. The rest is on loan & they want to keep those loans coming! I saw people try to take pics and security is right on top of it!

My biggest gripe about the Hall of Fame is that I believe that white women rockers have been forgotten...or at least underrepresented. For the life of me, I do not understand how Heart is not inducted already! They were even a nominee this year, but still no. What about Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Janis Ian...

I am headed to Montana now...

 

How many water smurfs do you see?

Hey Everybody,

As promised, here are a few pics from Niagara Falls. To be honest, this was a challenging stop after the peaceful Acadia National Park. I was not prepared for the mass (it probably wasn't that busy) of rude (or at least careless) people. I cannot tell you how many tourists bumped me, blocked me, cut me off. I got over it....but it took a concentrated effort :-)!

The place itself is beautiful. The powers that be have done a great job making it a nice, green recreational area.

We'll begin with the water smurfs on Canadian and US boats. The Maid of the Mist boat is pretty cool if you can block out all those damn smurfs! The thunder of the falls is awesome - and the mist, which is more like a heavy rain in spots, is just fun.

This pic does not represent the green space I mentioned. It just looks so surreal to me; perhaps I'll name this one "Green Slime in the Mist."

At last, the falls: The widest (and usually closest) waterfall in the pics is American Falls. The. big mist is from Horseshoe Falls. That's Niagara Falls in the background.

Niagara & Horseshoe Falls:

Still westward bound....next stop: Cleveland. Stay tuned & thanks for stopping by!

Leaving Maine...but taking the LONG way

Hey Everybody,

I'm almost caught up with blog posts....it was not easy packing up to leave the campsite, but it helped that I drove a great deal of Maine's coast before beginning the westward journey - via Canada.

After another trip down the Ocean Path I was off to Lubec, the easternmost town in the U.S. Lubec has one of Maine's prettiest lighthouses, and also happens to provide a bridge to New Brunswick, which is home to the Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

This is the West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec.

The Roosevelt home...he spent many happy summer vacations here. Since it was a Canadian holiday weekend I couldn't get in the house (or even in the visitor center) and the only available map was in French. It got me through, but I'm quite sure English would have been far more helpful.

The beach behind Roosevelt's place...the water was quite cold, but I walked in it for a few minutes to make the border crossing more authentic :-).

After wandering around the deserted (almost!) park I decided to follow the Canadian Hwy - 774, I think it was - to explore a bit more. Who knew it would deliver another cool lighthouse?

This is the East Quoddy Lighthouse. It's on a small, rocky island just yards from where I stood. Interestingly, there is a rusty old ladder down to the rocks/water (no beach!) on the viewing island and a matching ladder on the other island...but ALL signs stress the hazards of entering the water. I ask: why the ladders?! Really, they just make me want to swim over there!

New Brunswick had some nice homes, but mostly struck me as dealing with the same economic hardships as the U.S. It's a pretty place, but just looks a bit weary. After an hour or so, I made one last stop at the International Park before crossing the border. This is the Mulholland Point Lighthouse (1885). It was decommissioned in the early sixties because the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge (1962) provided navigational aid.

This is purely for fun: I passed a place, Wild Blueberry Land, on the way to Acadia & vowed to stop for a photo on the way out of Maine. If only it would have been open.... Best of all, a jeep pulled up right behind me on the roadside (Maine lic. plate) for the same reason.

The Marshall Point Lighthouse - one of Maine's most famous. It's on lots of postcards & gets decorated for Christmas. I accidentally passed it on the way to Acadia....

And this is the Owl's Head Lighthouse (1825) on Penobscot Bay. It's about 20 minutes from the above, which I didn't know until a visiting couple told me when our paths crossed at Marshall. I got there just before the park closed.

Better than the lighthouse, however, was this find just down the road:

I have been trying to find a cool buoy display that was accessible...lots of restaurants and homes have buoys, but most of the time I can't pull over or I don't want to trespass. I want to return to Maine someday!

Because no trip would be complete without this...I made a brief stop at the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport.

Just so you know...you cannot climb or drive the boots!

So long East Coast! When this trip started I feared it would never end...you know, for a few days. Now I cannot believe it's time to go west! Off to Niagara Falls....more soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Acadia National Park - Day 2

Greetings from sunny Maine!

I got a pretty early start today - since it's light around 4am! Sunrise was just before 5am. I began the day with my third trip down the trail to wander the coast. I could sit there all day, but I went to Jordan Pond. Not only is it a beautiful spot, but also it's a less busy place if you take the long trail & wander some of the linked trails. It's impossible to explore all of them in such a short visit.

Oh wait.... on the way to Jordan's Pond I found this hidden beach that I missed the first day. It's just off the road and down a bunch of stairs. Great spot...only 3 people were there, including me. Bring a thick towel if you plan to sit here for long....and remember to be prepared for all those beach spiders! Dontcha just love these rocks! It is illegal to remove them...Bummer!

This is the Bass Harbor Head Light (1858) at the southernmost tip of Mount Desert Island. There were eight other islands visible from this spot. Only one of them is inhabited year-round now. These waters used to be very busy and about one in five Maine residents were mariners.

Last but not least....a view from the highest peak, Cadillac Mountain.

I am convinced that I lucked into the best weekend here - great weather and it won't be busy until Memorial Day! Something to keep in mind for your Maine travels: watch the weather. It was explained to me that Maine folks will spend the first two nice weekends on their yards, then head for the outdoors. All that rain kept the natives home in the yard...

On the other hand, I couldn't go out on a Maine whale watch trip because the operators aren't running yet. The lighthouse boat tour operators aren't running yet either. If you want stuff to be open...come to Maine in June!

Two more trips to the ocean path...and I was still reluctant to leave Maine! So, stay tuned for one more post from Maine. Thanks for stopping by!

Acadia National Park!

Hey Everybody,

And just like that the weather is practically perfect and bugs almost nonexistent! Thus, on Friday I set up my tent at Blackwoods Campground, which is beautiful & close enough to the coast (5min walk) that I could hear the waves all night. Love that!

Ideally, I would have spent a week here. That was the plan two months ago, but things happen, rain falls, and I'm almost out of time. There are plenty of trails still to explore (and other reasons) to make a return trip.

The five minute walk from campsite leads to here:

It also links to the park's Ocean Trail, which winds around part of the coast.

The first lighthouse of the day is Egg Rock Lighthouse (1875). It's a bit offshore as you can tell, but cool just the same.

This is Sand Beach. Given the number of beaches made up of boulders...sand is a nice surprise around here!

Thunder Hole is one of the park's tourist highlights. I was there at low tide, but even then the rumbling is impressive.

A little beach along the park road....

A pond along the road....

And a stop in Bar Harbor. Still low tide! For 2 hours before and 2 hours after low tide people walk out to Bar Island. This is very accessible - right downtown along the waterfront.

This one is the other half of Bar Island and the other island is named after an animal (sheep or porcupine or something).

Perfect beach for a friendly game of volleyball....anyone?

Acadia, Day Two coming up...

Blame Verizon!

Hey Everybody!

I tried to post, but my Verizon data plan failed it's first real road test. In theory I was supposed to be able to write from the wild; in practice...not so much!

I will try to get us caught up. The last time I wrote we had weather issues and I didnt get to really play on the rocks. Thus, I was tempted to return to the same place the next day in the sun. I had to do it... And here's the way the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was meant to look!

The other reason I had to go back is that I have been hearing talk that people think I am camped out in Sherry's backyard and not really travelling. So, here's proof that I am on these rocks :-).

My seat....as close to the edge as I could safely get for wave photos.

My foot....

One of my favorite close-up waves crashing toward me....

After a couple hours climbing rocks, taking pics of rocks, and way too many photos of splashing water (it's addictive!), I moved on to the next lighthouse.

The Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse (1902) is a two-mile (r/t) walk on the breakwater & worth it on such a nice day!

Maine is so beautiful under blue skies! I cannot even tell you how grateful I am for a sunny forecast.... Next stop Acadia Natioal Park, at last!!! More tomorrow....